Nov. 21, 2013
SWIMMING AND DIVING AT OHIO STATE INVITATIONAL
When: Friday, Nov. 22 – Sunday, Nov. 24
Where: Bill & Mae McCorkle Aquatic Pavilion, Columbus, Ohio
Live Stats:
OhioStateBuckeyes.com
Video Preview: Jorgensen Previews Ohio State Invitational
Official Site:
Ohio State Invitational Central
Additional Info: Twitter | Facebook
LEXINGTON, Ky. – After three weeks off, the University of Kentucky swimming and diving team returns to the road for the Ohio State Invitational, Nov. 22-24 in Columbus, Ohio.
The five-team invitational is a star-studded event that features three teams ranked within the top 15 of both the men’s and women’s CollegeSwimming.com rankings. In addition to Kentucky, which is ranked 29th and 33rd in the men’s and women’s rankings, the three-day competition features No. 11/14 Ohio State, No. 1/3 Florida, No. 10/5 Virginia and the Purdue women.
“This is going to be a great meet,” UK head coach Lars Jorgensen said. “There are going to be five really outstanding teams. The Florida men are as good as any team in the country and their women are outstanding as well. Ohio State, we swam earlier this year, and they are a great team. Virginia is a perennial ACC power as well. It’s going to be a great meet in a great facility. We’re excited to see what we can do in the final meet of the semester and evaluate where we are and what we need to work on heading into the spring semester.
Competition gets underwayFriday at 11 a.m. ET with prelims, while the finals will be held at 6 p.m. Racing resumes Saturday at 10 a.m. with prelims and finals at 6 p.m. The Invite comes to a close Sunday with prelims at 9 a.m. and finals at 3 p.m.
After four straight dual- and tri-meets to open the season, the Ohio State Invitational is the first multi-team event for UK this year. The competition also marks the end of the fall racing schedule for Kentucky.
Live results from the Ohio State Invite can be found on OhioStateBuckeyes.com, while additional information, including a full event schedule, is available on the Ohio State Invitational Central. Updates and additional information for Wildcat fans can be found on Twitter at @UKSwimDive.
EVENT SCHEDULE
Friday, Nov. 22 – Prelims – 11 a.m. | Finals: 6 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 23 – Prelims – 10 a.m. | Finals: 6 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 24 – Prelims – 9 a.m. | Finals: 3 p.m.
SCOUTING THE FIELD
The Florida men enter the OSU Invite ranked No. 1, with wins over Alabama, Georgia, Minnesota and Missouri, all ranked in the top 16. The UF women, ranked third, boast wins over Missouri and No. 18 Alabama in addition to defeats to top-ranked California and No. 2 Georgia. Last season, both the Gator men and women finished sixth at the NCAA Championships.
This will be the second meeting between UK and Ohio State this year. The two squads faced off in the Lancaster Aquatics Center Oct. 11 in UK’s season opener. The Buckeyes downed the Wildcats 176-122 in the men’s events and 195-104 in the women’s competition. Kentucky swept all four diving events and won five swimming events in the season’s first meeting.
The Virginia men are 2-2 on the year and ranked 10th. The Cavaliers have beaten Navy and West Virginia and lost to Texas and Penn State. The UVA women, ranked fifth, are undefeated on the year with wins over Navy, Penn State, Texas, West Virginia and Yale. Virginia placed 27th and 16th at the men’s and women’s national championship competition, respectively.
The Purdue women, coming off a 16th-place finish at the 2013 NCAA Championships, are undefeated in dual meet competitions this season, with wins over Miami (Ohio), Notre Dame, Northwestern and Ohio State.
LAST TIME OUT: VS. INDIANA AND TENNESSEE
Competing against two teams with both men’s and women’s squads ranked in the top ten nationally, Kentucky won five events but suffered losses to Indiana and Tennessee Nov. 1 at IU’s Counsilman Billingsley Aquatic Center.
The Wildcat men lost to the eighth-ranked Volunteers, 177-123 and fell to No. 9 IU 208.0-92.0. The UK women were defeated by No. 8 UT 214-84 and fell to the 10th-ranked Hoosiers 199-95.
Christa Cabot won both the 1- and 3-meter diving events, the second time this season she has swept the diving competition. The junior has claimed five victories through the first four competitions this season.
Eric Bruck claimed a victory in the men’s 50 yard freestyle event, while Christina Bechtel won the women’s 100 yard butterfly competition. Lucas Gerotto rounded out UK’s wins with a first-place finish in the men’s 100 butterfly.
A full recap from the action in Bloomington, Ind., can be found here.
UP NEXT: USA WINTER NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Ohio State Invitational signals the end of the fall season for the Wildcats. Select UK swimmers will compete at the 2013 AT&T Winter National Championships, Dec. 5-7 in Knoxville, Tenn., while divers will compete at the USA Diving Winter National Championships Dec. 17-22 in Austin, Texas. Kentucky will also compete at the Georgia Diving Invitational Jan. 3-5 in Athens, Ga.
The spring season officially resumes when UK travels to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to race SEC-foes Alabama and Arkansas on Jan. 11.
SEC HONORS BECHTEL, FERRUCCI AND FLYNN
The Wildcats have been honored with three Southeastern Conference Athlete of the Week honors to begin the season. Freshman Brandon Flynn was named the Freshman of the Week on Oct. 29, while junior swimmer Christina Bechtel and senior diver Greg Ferrucci were honored with the season’s first Athlete the Week awards on Oct. 15.
Flynn was named the SEC’s Male Freshman Swimmer of the Week for the first time in his career after he won all four events he competed in against Missouri and Southern Illinois over two days. Flynn recorded his first collegiate win in the men’s 400 individual medley, and, eight events later, he returned to the water to win the men’s 500 freestyle. The next day, Flynn won the 1,000 yard freestyle in 9:21.94 before leading the way as the UK men finished one-two-three in the 500 yard freestyle.
Ferrucci, who has won all four diving events to open the year, was named the SEC’s Male Diver of the Week for the eighth time in his career. Ferrucci recorded wins in all four competitions to start the season. At Georgia on Sept. 25, he notched victories in the 1- and 3-meter dives, while the senior swept the diving events again at home against Ohio State on Oct. 11.
Bechtel earned her first career SEC Female Swimmer of the Week honor after a two-win performance Oct. 11 against Ohio State.
On the strengths of two wins in the butterfly against Ohio State, Bechtel was ranked second nationally in the 100-yard butterfly after she finished first with a time of 54.34. Bechtel, an NCAA qualifier last year, also posted a win in the 200-yard butterfly against the Buckeyes.
THE WILDCATS AGAINST THE SEC
Through the first four meets of the 2013 season, UK swimmers have posted 11 times that rank within the top 10 fastest in the Southeastern Conference in each event this season.
In the women’s 100 butterfly, junior Christina Bechtel notched the league’s top time, with a 53.32 while fellow junior Abby Myers’ 54.83 is ninth, both achieved against Indiana and Tennessee. Bechtel also is eighth and Myers ninth, with a 1:59.53 and 2:00.41, respectively, in the 200 butterfly, also against IU and UT. Freshman Kendal Casey owns the ninth-fastest time in the women’s 1,650 freestyle with a 16:58.67 in UK’s win over Mizzou and Southern Illinois.
For the UK men, senior Eric Bruck’s 20.04 against Indiana and Tennessee is the third fastest time in the 50 freestyle. Freshman Drew Aviotti’s 15:43.66 ranks sixth, while sophomore Hector Tricas’ 15:52.08 is ninth, both in the 1,650 freestyle against Missouri and Southern Illinois. Freshman Brandon Flynn’s 9:15.34 against IU and UT is seventh in the 1,000 freestyle while his 3:58.11 in the 400 individual medley against MU and SIU is ninth. Senior Lucas Gerotto owns a 49.00 against IU and UT in the 100 butterfly, good for ninth in the SEC.
THE JORGENSEN FILE
Lars Jorgensen is in his first season as head coach at Kentucky after serving as an associate head coach for the Wildcats last season. A 1988 Olympian and standout student-athlete at the University of Tennessee, Jorgensen served as interim head coach for his alma mater in 2011-12. He also spent time on the coaching staffs at Toledo and LSU.
As a student-athlete at UT, Jorgensen holds the school record in the 1,000 freestyle, set in 1992. He earned a silver medal at the 1993 SEC Championships in the 1,650 freestyle and helped the Volunteers to a third-place finish.
At the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul, Jorgensen placed ninth in the 1,500-meter freestyle. His brother Daniel also competed in 1988, making them the second pair of brothers to participate in an Olympics. Daniel returned to the Olympics in 1992 and won a bronze medal as part of the 800 freestyle team, while their father, Niels, was an Olympic wrestler for Denmark.
RETURNING STARPOWER
UK returns all four student-athletes that competed at the 2013 Men’s and Women’s NCAA Championships. Senior diver Greg Ferrucci is coming off fourth-place finishes in all three NCAA events and became the first diver to earn First-Team All-America honors in one season on the 1 meter, 3 meter and platform. Senior John Fox and juniors Christina Bechtel and Christa Cabot made their first NCAA appearance in 2013.
2013-14 CAPTAINS ANNOUNCED
Seniors John Fox and Maclin Simpson and junior Michael Christian were named captains of the UK men’s team, while juniors Christina Bechtel, Christa Cabot and Lindsay Hill were announced as captains of the women’s squad.
A LOOK AT THE 2013-14 SCHEDULE
The 2013-14 campaign features dual or tri meets with five SEC foes and two home competitions. In addition to Oct. 11’s home opener against Ohio State, the Wildcats welcome Cincinnati to Lexington on Feb. 1 at noon at the Lancaster Aquatics Center on the UK campus.
The 2014 SEC Championships will be held Feb. 18-22 in Athens, Ga. The NCAA Women’s Championship will be in Minneapolis, Minn., March 20-23, while the men’s national championship will be March 27-30 in Austin, Texas.
The complete 2013-14 schedule can be found here.
For complete news and updates on the Kentucky Swimming and Diving program, go to UKathletics.com/SwimmingDiving. Breaking news, behind-the-scenes updates, photos and more can be found on Twitter at @UKSwimDive and Facebook at Facebook.com/UKSwimDive.
